Xie Xinlian pressed the speaker button immediately upon hearing this. "Ani, Ani, your sister has a boyfriend."
She had been worrying about her daughter’s future just yesterday. Who would have thought such a pleasant surprise would drop into her lap today?
"Yes, I met her today. She is a very good person," Zhu Yanyi said with a smile. She recounted the story of Zhu Yanli and Taishu Yuanxiang.
"It was all a mistake. A classmate of my sister’s plotted against her. My sister was drugged. Taishu Yuanxiang saved her. He is the man we are bringing home to meet tomorrow. If he hadn’t been there, my sister might have suffered a terrible reputation by now."
Zhu Yanyi told the story with seven parts truth and three parts fiction. She wasn’t trying to make excuses for Taishu Yuanxiang. She simply wanted to clarify the main points and smooth over the details. Some things were better left unsaid, especially when speaking to her parents. She didn’t want them to be angry at Zhu Yanli’s behavior.
Current social norms were still quite conservative. For unmarried men and women who didn’t even know each other well to end up in such a situation was considered a scandal.
After finishing her explanation, Zhu Yanyi added, "Since it happened, Taishu Yuanxiang wanted to take responsibility. She kept looking for my sister, but she kept refusing. When I found out, I scolded my sister today."
"She deserved it. Hiding such a big thing from the family. She really should be scolded," Xie Xinlian agreed. Though she said this, she was still concerned about Zhu Yanli. "So, has that young man won your sister’s heart?"
"My sister woke up after I scolded her," Zhu Yanyi said seriously. "Most importantly…" She paused. "I looked at my sister’s complexion, Mama. She didn’t take good care of herself afterward. She is already nearly a month pregnant. So, their matter needs to be resolved soon."
Hearing this, Zhu Shunyao forgot his anger. "Is A-Nian okay?"
She was angry that her daughter had hidden things, but hearing that her eldest daughter was pregnant, she didn’t feel the shame many fathers might feel. Instead, she cared more about Zhu Yanli. Besides, she was her own daughter. If there was any fault, it was Taishu Yuanxiang’s.
If they were to argue, Zhu Shunyao would definitely say, "My daughter was drugged. You were drugged too. Couldn’t you have held back? If you had, my daughter would be fine." After all, as a father who favored his daughters, he believed his daughter could never be wrong.
"The Taishu Yuanxiang you mentioned… is he taking responsibility just because of this? If he has no feelings for your sister, I absolutely won’t agree. Our family can raise a child without him," Zhu Shunyao said firmly.
Since the result was already set, Zhu Shunyao knew he couldn’t refuse. But he still needed to ensure his daughter’s happiness.
Zhu Yanyi quickly replied, "You can rest assured about that. As far as I know, before she even knew my sister was pregnant, Taishu Yuanxiang proposed to her whenever she had free time. My sister made all kinds of excuses to refuse. Sometimes she said their families weren’t a match. Sometimes she said she had performances to attend. Oh, right, she even said she wanted to attend a performance in March next year. I scolded her for that."
"She deserved to be scolded," Xie Xinlian agreed. "With a belly like that, what kind of performance could she possibly do? I will scold her too when she comes back tomorrow."
"Then, Ani, will you come back tomorrow?" Zhu Shunyao asked.
"I can’t come back tomorrow. I performed a surgery this afternoon and need to check on the patient tomorrow. Also, as you know, I am still treating that liver cancer patient. So, I can’t return for a while," Zhu Yanyi said seriously. "However, I can give you a brief introduction to Taishu Yuanxiang."
"Good, tell us," Zhu Shunyao said. Although he was annoyed, he calmed down quickly. This concerned his eldest daughter’s future, so he naturally wanted to know more.
Zhu Yanyi gave a general overview of Taishu Yuanxiang’s background. Then she added, "Although I have met him and he looks fine, and Brother Yan has guaranteed his character, I think, Baba, you can still make things difficult for him tomorrow. After all, he treated my sister that way. Even if it was to save her, what happened, happened. Besides, he was also careless and got drugged, using my sister as an antidote. If we don’t hold him accountable, does that mean the daughters of the Zhu family are worthless?"
"Hmm, you are right. No matter what, I will make things difficult for him tomorrow," Zhu Shunyao decided immediately. He knew he would eventually agree to their marriage, but he wanted Taishu Yuanxiang to understand that marrying a Zhu daughter wasn’t easy.
After hanging up, Zhu Shunyao went to think about how to test Taishu Yuanxiang. Xie Xinlian had no objections. She was still quite conservative, and premarital pregnancy was indeed not a good look. It was only right for her husband to make things hard for them.
Of course, the couple was still curious about Taishu Yuanxiang. With these thoughts on their minds, they didn’t sleep well that night.
After finishing the call, Zhu Yanyi went to see Yan Aohan. He was seriously handling documents. Sensing someone watching him, he looked up and saw Zhu Yanyi leaning against the doorframe. He smiled. "Finished your call?"
Zhu Yanyi nodded slightly, then gave a very sly smile. "I told my Baba to remember to make things difficult for Taishu Yuanxiang tomorrow."
Yan Aohan chuckled. "He should. Who told him to be so careless." He stood up, walked over to Zhu Yanyi, and pinned her against the wall by the doorframe.
Zhu Yanyi was slightly stunned. "Aren’t you busy? Why are you coming over? Go handle your things."
"I must be busy, but some debts need to be settled," Yan Aohan said, his face full of tenderness. This made Zhu Yanyi doubt if this was really what settling a debt looked like. "I don’t owe you anything."
"You despise me?" Yan Aohan looked at Zhu Yanyi with great grievance.
Seeing him like this, Zhu Yanyi swallowed hard. Every time Yan Aohan made this expression, she found herself unconsciously charmed. "Where did I despise you?"
"You told your sister that Taishu Yuanxiang wasn’t good enough because he is nine years older than Yanli," Yan Aohan remembered this clearly. After all, he was a whole year older than her.
Zhu Yanyi hurriedly protested. "I was just trying to persuade my sister. And if anyone was being picky, it was about Taishu Yuanxiang being nine years older than my sister. It had nothing to do with despising you."
"Whether you despised me or not, I am hurt. So you must compensate me," Yan Aohan said. He wrapped one arm around her waist, fixed her head with the other, and leaned down to capture the sweetness between her lips, thus healing his wounded heart.